Who thinks GameTrailers Comparison vidz are hurting the gaming scene???

it dawned on me recemtly....every time gametrailers.com releases a new "comparison video" its almost as if someone has dropped a nuke on forums at almost every site.

i think its completely unfair to judge any games graphics through a captured video source that has been reduced and converted and viewed through personal monitors that are then held to each individuals settings.....

but gametrailers still manages to crank out so many of these. i personally feel as GT has been using these vidz to boost their traffic. this is one of the problems w/games coming into the internet age. when i was young the internet was there for sure, but most game companies still had to rely on the game maazines. they were like 20 different major game magz....egm,gamepro,gamefan, etc.etc.

back in the days you had to judge a game on its merits as a whole, becasue graphics were so hard to relay through just pics and words....so you had to be concerned with gameplay features, stories,characters and so on

back to my point at hand....

a. do you think these comparison vidz add to the debate.....

b. do you think the new media(websites,blogs and the oversaturation of media and news)is complicit in killing games before we even get a chance to play them??

I agree on the crazy amount of coverage games go through before release. Impressions, hands on previews, a million screens a day, it really brings the hype of the game down imo. I usually try to ignore 90% of the media on my anticipated list, and just hope for the best or wait until a demo comes out so I can experience everything for the first time.

About the comparison vids, they are pretty pointless, one had forza vs forza 2 (30 vs 60fps) and it was hardly noticable, but during gameplay, you can see a big difference imo.

I do think they are a useful marketing tool, but they also underline an inherent problem of the industry. That is the necessity of multiple versions of the same game across multiple systems. I understand why it is that way, but it's pretty pathetic to think of how many ports are being developed at any given time versus how many exclusives. The industry could churn out twice as much content if publishers would commit to one system or another....

Anyway, my gripes aside, I don't personally have a problem with it. MS has at least given me a small incentive to buy their system's version in Achievements, so I don't even look at the PS3 version in most cases, anyway.

Your second point is very interesting. It makes me think of Killzone 2, which, frankly, wouldn't be on most people's maps if it weren't for websites like this one and gametrailers.com. Those guys owe a lot to the internet for getting the word out about how amazing that trailer looked...but if the final game is a dud and the hype dies a glorious, flaming death on the internet -- I think we as consumers will be better off for it.

reviews many good games don't get sequels because reviewers are too quick to point out every single flaw a game has, thus forgetting why people play game, to have fun and let people make up their own mindsloumart08

I'm sure the reviewer wants to have fun too even though they seem so jaded. People do make up their own minds when buying a game. Nobody is forced to play something if they don't want to and when they buy a game they too like you and me buy it because we think it will entertain them. I think it's only when you put too much faith in one review that you forget to make your own opinion.

Dude, no offense, but how can you possibly be surprised at any of this? This happens at the dawn of every generation, only this time it's more pronounced due to afew key differences in the two systems (which I'll kindly leave out of this).

Tis nothing new. Same as it ever was. And it's a GOOD thing for the industry, because it makes developers and hardware makers work all that much harder. Nobody is going to be coasting into first place this generation, and that's a beautiful thing. It's going to be ugly at times, but we (the people who matter, remember?) are going to be the better for it, no matter who ends up "winning".

Trust me on this.

well i think that the last two generations have suffered from the oversaturation of the media.....much more than say the SNES or the PS1 or even the dreamcast.

the
bloggers
journalist
gamesite pundits
gamesite editors

have all become so much more mobilized due to the internet.

when the ps1 launched the only televised gameshow i had acess to was on the fx channel....and it was on like once every two weeks....and even then it was the same 4 epsiodes played randomly. other than that i had to wait monthly for a new magazine that had *gasp* screenshots.....believe it or not but videos of games are a new thing relatively, to videogames.

this current gen we have
blogs 24/7
podcasts
gametrailers
developer interviews
game dev diaries vidz
weekly online talkshow vidz about games (bonus round,on the spot,1up show)

i mean its just a lotta information......mabye i contend, too much.

and i wont even talk about the forum :roll: every tiny minute piece of information is poured over to painful extent

ive been through all the generations so far, and this one is defintiely the most dissected if you will

well i think that the last two generations have suffered from the oversaturation of the media.....much more than say the SNES or the PS1 or even the dreamcast.

the
bloggers
journalist
gamesite pundits
gamesite editors

have all become so much more mobilized due to the internet.

when the ps1 launched the only televised gameshow i had acess to was on the fx channel....and it was on like once every two weeks....and even then it was the same 4 epsiodes played randomly. other than that i had to wait monthly for a new magazine that had *gasp* screenshots.....believe it or not but videos of games are a new thing relatively, to videogames.

this current gen we have
blogs 24/7
podcasts
gametrailers
developer interviews
game dev diaries vidz
weekly online talkshow vidz about games (bonus round,on the spot,1up show)

i mean its just a lotta information......mabye i contend, too much.

and i wont even talk about the forum :roll: every tiny minute piece of information is poured over to painful extent

ive been through all the generations so far, and this one is defintiely the most dissected if you will

flood

Well I have been through the various generations ever since the Atari 2600 and I would say it's always better to have more information available at a quicker rate and better detailed from a wider variety of sources and opinions then to not have it. I think it's much, much better nowadays to make much better informed purchasing decisions. Like most things in life the individual always has the ability to choose what information they wish to view, how much they choose to view, and how they decide to react to that information. Better to have the opportunity to have more of it available then to be restrictions on it.

well ...lookit this way. you could make the claim of a customer being able to make an educated opinion based off of these videos...if all things were equal.

but they usually arent.....there are so many different variables in capturing video from two different sources, that to assume your getting a fair and balanced comparison is wishful thinking at best....bordering on delusional (not directed at anyone posting here)

look at gamespots recent gaff with the comparison screens between oblivion for the 360/PS3. lets not even think about the fact that theyve allready beaten that horse dead...but they dicided to do it again. ok, fine. but i can tell you from experience and having played them both thouroughly.......the PS3 just looks a bit better(of course it should with a year more dev time). its obvious to anyone whos played both versions. yet for some reason GS decided to compare, and use washed out screens to represent the PS3 version. i know this was a mistake because again i own the game and i know it looks absolutely nowhere near what they showed....

but if we were to go by the piece they did....clealry the 360 version has more colorful,crisper graphics....which clearly isnt the truth...and someone will base their purchase of of this comparison.

well ...lookit this way. you could make the claim of a customer being able to make an educated opinion based off of these videos...if all things were equal.

but they usually arent.....there are so many different variables in capturing video from two different sources, that to assume your getting a fair and balanced comparison is wishful thinking at best....bordering on delusional (not directed at anyone posting here)

look at gamespots recent gaff with the comparison screens between oblivion for the 360/PS3. lets not even think about the fact that theyve allready beaten that horse dead...but they dicided to do it again. ok, fine. but i can tell you from experience and having played them both thouroughly.......the PS3 just looks a bit better(of course it should with a year more dev time). its obvious to anyone whos played both versions. yet for some reason GS decided to compare, and use washed out screens to represent the PS3 version. i know this was a mistake because again i own the game and i know it looks absolutely nowhere near what they showed....

but if we were to go by the piece they did....clealry the 360 version has more colorful,crisper graphics....which clearly isnt the truth...and someone will base their purchase of of this comparison.

flood

Hmm but doesn't this example lend credence to the fact that having more information and opinions on these things is better. To be an educated consumer means you have to look beyond just what one site may offer and take other viewpoints into consideration. The same notion of skewed opinions was the same back in simpler times when magazines were the mainstay of gaming information and those things cost money. Nowadays there is such a wealth of information readily available to consumers and better ways to see what the games are really like through video, sound, etc. and practically all of it is free not to mention that we can recieve this information and make comments on it pretty much instantly. Sure it's not going to be 100% perfect but I can't imagine that we aren't much better off now then we've ever been.

yet for some reason GS decided to compare, and use washed out screens to represent the PS3 version. i know this was a mistake because again i own the game and i know it looks absolutely nowhere near what they showed....flood

The written portion of the comparison came off to me as they were saying that devs are doing a better job making the PS3 and 360 versions the same in quality, with either version taking minor hits at times in different areas to make them different slightly, but never anything to make them say "This system is more powerful than the other."

If people are just looking at the pictures, and not reading the underlaying text to get a full sense of the matter, that's not GS's fault, that's the reader's fault, just like how it's someone's fault for buying something just because it has a franchise's name on it, or because they saw some cool pictures of graphics, etc. The core of the problem, honestly, stems more from the reader/user side of things than anything else, personally.

Well I've seen a number of videos there which were done to build hype but non of them worked with me specially TRA and TR the original video. When anybody watches it he/she gets the feeling that it's going surpass the original when it didn't.

tomb raider? sorry im to up on my abreviations for gamesflood

Yes.

Well...does Gametrailer's comparison hurt the scene and fuel fanboyism more then these two things.....

- An entire forum dedicated to fanboyism here on Gamespot.

- Having "Vs. " features like those at IGN and here at Gamespot like this and this complete with screenshot comparisons, especially when dealing with a games that are editor's choice across all platforms regardless.

back to my point at hand....

a. do you think these comparison vidz add to the debate.....

b. do you think the new media(websites,blogs and the oversaturation of media and news)is complicit in killing games before we even get a chance to play them??

flood

a. Of course.....But I don't think Gametrailers is to blame....especially when other sites do the exact same thing and can actually be looked at as starting the whole comparison trend.

I for one enjoy Gametrailers, and I think they are just feeding into a market and desire that has already been there and put forth by other sites.

b. Absolutely......but you can't stop the internet, but at the same time, the internet being a much bigger and more mainstream presence during last gen and this has given fanboys a platform for their rhetoric and rumors....whether they are on forums, acting actual editors at gaming sites, or bloggers.

Before last gen with the Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube....I really don't recal the whole "System Wars" mentality that is so prevailent now to that even those companies participate fully in it.

I remember rivalries between NES and Sega....SNES, Genesis, Turbografx 16.....PSX and N64......but never this full on "System Wars" mentality that have literally made or broke the image of certain games due to the rhetoric being tossed around and also fanboy voices being heard....nor do I remember outrageous rumors being so prevailent nor as much time spent paying attention to them as they are now.

I'd say 2001 was when I would consider actually seeing the whole "System Wars" mentality take off....there are a couple of really key things I would point to as having really fueled it....such as one particular game in its arrival literally being compared to everything by its fans and used to bash competiting systems unlike any other game before it....but then again, that may in itself fan some flames.

^^^^
excellent post! this was the conversation i was looking for.

great points. i think back in my day the biggest argument was over which version had more pixels and that was about it. most arguments were more about which version this game or that game was better....becasue back in the day there wasnt a lot of exlcusives per'se but more exclusive features.....

for instance, shadowrun on the snes was a crafted and deep RPG, where as on the genesis it was more a top down shooter...almost two completely different games. out of this world for the snes had some extras the genesis didnt. MK had real blood w/sega and not the snes. so as you can see games back then were more about thefeatures and less exclusivity.

i never remember hearing arguments about market share,timed exclusives, or any of the other bajillion buzzphrases we now hear on a daily basis.

and the worst part is all the people i saw defend the 360(much like i did) when it was in its first dry spell, and being called xbox 1.5.....are using the same rhetoric to attack the other guy(PS3)

i dont think the answer is less knowledge or information, i dont even know what the answer is....but all i can say is the destructive nature of the internet is at an all time high lately.

i dont think the answer is less knowledge or information, i dont even know what the answer is....but all i can say is the destructive nature of the internet is at an all time high lately.

flood

Part of it, to a degree, is simply that it seems that far too many people act like they have to justify what they have through downtalking other people and their purchases/systems, as if the only way to make them feel better about their own platform isn't to focus on what's great to them about the system(s) they own, but to make it clear that people going for other platforms/systems have made the 'wrong' choice in the matter, and are inherently worse off for it.

I own what I own for my own reasons, and my future plans for system purchases are based on many factors, but these comparison videos really have little impact on me personally, since my decision was figured out a long time ago regarding this gen.

No. If you want to see the difference it does show you though when I rarely view them it is hard to see some big difference. It serves its purpose of comparing the games graphics and that isn't hurting anyone so it's all good.Nifty_Shark

I agree, even though I find them to be odd and a waste of time a most points, people aren't going to buy the 360 or PS3 version of game because it looks a tad better...